Has anyone intentionally introduced aquatic isopods to their tank(s)?

[Retrophyllum_minus]

As the subject says:

has anyone ever purposefully introduced aquatic isopods to their tank? If so, how did it go?

[Fish Folk]

Isopods... no. But Arthropods? Yes! Quite frequently. I culture Scuds to feed to my NANF tanks.

[TAB]

no, but copepods yes.  in a few reef tanks over the years actually.

[Retrophyllum_minus]

On 9/14/2024 at 9:59 PM, Fish Folk said:

Isopods... no. But Arthropods? Yes! Quite frequently. I culture Scuds to feed to my NANF tanks.

Nice. Yeah I've considered scuds for the future as well. Isopods - I'm thinking they can live in the substrate and help break down waste. Make it more of an ecosystem. But it isn't something I've seen anyone try or heard any feedback on yet. 

[Mississippi fish guy]

On 9/13/2024 at 5:59 PM, Retrophyllum_minus said:

aquatic isopods

No, I didn’t know there were more aquatic isopods than the giant isopod. Could you give me the names of some?

[Retrophyllum_minus]

On 9/14/2024 at 11:53 PM, Mississippi fish guy said:

No, I didn’t know there were more aquatic isopods than the giant isopod. Could you give me the names of some?

There's all sorts. They're little detritivores like aquatic sow bugs and water louse, etc. 

[GoofyGarra]

Aquatic isopods would be interesting. I feel like part of the issue might be introducing beneficial isopods without introducing parasitic ones, or just the lack of information/research,  but i think in the future they could be interesting nano-tank inhabitants.

[johnnyxxl]

On 9/15/2024 at 8:56 AM, GoofyGarra said:

Aquatic isopods would be interesting. I feel like part of the issue might be introducing beneficial isopods without introducing parasitic ones, or just the lack of information/research,  but i think in the future they could be interesting nano-tank inhabitants.

Might be able to find lab cultures from biological supply houses 

[Mississippi fish guy]

On 9/15/2024 at 7:40 AM, Retrophyllum_minus said:

There's all sorts. They're little detritivores like aquatic sow bugs and water louse

I found those behind my family’s house in a small ditch but I had no clue what they were until now. How can I know if they are parasitic since they would probably go well in the pigmy sunfish tank I will be setting up and scuds are a bit harder to find in the ditch. Also are sow bugs and water lice the same thing or are they different?

[Retrophyllum_minus]

On 9/15/2024 at 4:15 PM, Mississippi fish guy said:

I found those behind my family’s house in a small ditch but I had no clue what they were until now. How can I know if they are parasitic since they would probably go well in the pigmy sunfish tank I will be setting up and scuds are a bit harder to find in the ditch. Also are sow bugs and water lice the same thing or are they different?

Asellidae is the Family. But I think a water louse is a type of aquatic sowbug. My understanding is the common names can get a bit confusing. But members of the Family Asellidae include 19 different genera globally. They'll eat dead animals, plant matter, and other things but I doubt any would go for live fish. Although don't quote me on that. Interestingly, the Wikipedia page for Asellus aquaticus has a section (very brief) about their use "in the Aquarium" which I just saw for the first time today. 

On 9/15/2024 at 8:56 AM, GoofyGarra said:

the issue might be introducing beneficial isopods without introducing parasitic ones

Yeah and I'm not finding much out there on them. Just curious. May take a 20 gallon at some point with some local minnows and isopods and give it a try. Who knows. 

[GoofyGarra]

On 9/15/2024 at 4:59 PM, Retrophyllum_minus said:

Yeah and I'm not finding much out there on them

There are good amounts of information out there on aquatic inverts like shrimp and snails, but when it comes to more insect-like aquatic critters like isopods and diving beetles, information is a lot sparser.

[Retrophyllum_minus]

On 9/15/2024 at 1:13 PM, johnnyxxl said:

Might be able to find lab cultures from biological supply houses 

https://www.phillipsfishworks.com/product-page/aquatic-isopod-culture-10-pack

So, I just found this in my online searches. A site called Phillip's Fish Works sells an aquatic isopod culture but I don't know what species. I'm not familiar with his site. 

On 9/15/2024 at 5:01 PM, GoofyGarra said:

information is a lot sparser.

Yeah, that's what I'm finding too. I may reach out to the Phillip's Fish Works guy I mentioned in my last comment and see what he can tell me. 

Edited Sunday at 09:04 PM by Retrophyllum_minus

[Mississippi fish guy]

On 9/15/2024 at 3:59 PM, Retrophyllum_minus said:

They'll eat dead animals, plant matter, and other things but I doubt any would go for live fish

Thanks, I will probably collect some when they start to hatch in the ditch. There has been any water in it for a while so I don’t know how long it will be before they are large enough for me to tell what they are.

[Retrophyllum_minus]

On 9/15/2024 at 7:00 PM, Mississippi fish guy said:

Thanks, I will probably collect some when they start to hatch in the ditch. There has been any water in it for a while so I don’t know how long it will be before they are large enough for me to tell what they are.

Yeah might be worth it. Try them in a tank with a couple small fish and see what happens over time. If the results are good, maybe do more with them. It also might be worth reaching out to that same guy that I mentioned who sells them that I found online. He might have more information. I'm going to reach out to him sometime in the next few days when I have time.

[GoofyGarra]

On 9/15/2024 at 7:00 PM, Mississippi fish guy said:

Thanks, I will probably collect some when they start to hatch in the ditch. There has been any water in it for a while so I don’t know how long it will be before they are large enough for me to tell what they are.

I might try them in a tank with a feeder fish or something not worth too much money first just to be fish they are safe, then add them to a tank with pricier fish.

[clownbaby]

I have not had them in a fish tank, but I had them in an ecosphere! If you're not a fan of critters that move weird then they will definitely be creepy. They act just like isopods / roly-polys; just underwater. They eat mold, algae, mulm. Super fun to watch! 

They probably would be preyed upon by fish... they move a lot like worms do, if I were a fish I would chomp em. Anyway, here's what I know about em:

The pH of my ecosphere was 6.3: I got everything including the water from a local pond. gH and kH were too soft to get a good reading. Nitrite and Nitrate were present, this pond had waterfowl and ergo duck poo. The substrate I had collected was mainly clay, mulm, and silt. Emphasis on the mulm. Lots of deciduous trees were on the margins of this pond so there was lots of leaf decay on the uppermost level. Near the shore were some local plants: eleocharis of some sort, some sedges, and the only submerged plant was ludwigia palustris. The water was tinted. Not by a lot but a yellow color - more yellow than brown. I didn't really feed the ecosphere, but put some fallen alder and willow leaves that were wet and wimpy. The isopod ate this, same with all the other animals. 

Because they are crustaceans they would probably benefit from harder water than what I found them in, but again, I found mine in the wild and just kept the organisms to study pond life. So I cannot say for sure. But I can say they eat mulms and leaves! 😂 I am sure this isn't too helpful but I hope it helps